Hunters Together!
by Fire and Ice2
Summary: Frodo and co bump accidentally in to a group of hunters who are looking for Saruman. These hunters aren’t treated very well until they save the lives of the fellowship. The teams then decided to stay together- n/b This is the right story, other loaded i


Disclaimer- LOTR's characters, not mine but the rest are so that's just Hope, Lunar, Jennifer and Artemis.  
  
I decided to write this because I thought there wasn't enough female influence. But even with gal's added there should be no romance. although I might try and fix up Pippin (  
  
Summary: - Frodo and co bump accidentally in to a group of hunters who are looking for Saruman. These hunters aren't treated very well until they save the lives of the fellowship. After that they decided that their paths have crossed so they might aswell stay together for the duration.  
  
*************************************-- ******************************************************************* Chapter one: - Run in with danger.  
  
In the dark and musty tunnels of Moria, Frodo watched Gandalf with sudden interest.  
  
The old grey man muttered to himself, trying to decide which tunnel didn't lead to death. Frodo sighed; he feared this ring was never going to leave him, forever staining his life. He wondered what could be happening in the outside world? What the weather was like? And if indeed they were the only ones wandering these dark lands?  
  
The rain poured increasingly harder and Hope could barely hear Lunar's voice through the pounding rain.  
  
"I think we had better find shelter", Lunar shouted past her green hood. Hope was barely visible through the downpour.  
  
"Nonsense, Lunar. We shall be-" he voice broke off as forked lightening zapped the ground by Hopes foot. Hope seemed unmoved by this, whilst Jennifer, the youngest by far of the group, hurtled back into a large tree. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her neck. The forest was nearly flooding and Jennifer couldn't help but blame Hope for landing them in another predicament.  
  
"Hope!" she whined, pulling her long mahogany hair back into her cloak. Hope was tiring of the constant complaining from the gifted 19-year-old elf. But being an elf of grace. well some grace, Hope balled her fists and continued to calmly "reason" with Lunar.  
  
"Lunar, the rain will finish in a matter of hours. Of this I am sure" she lied. She knew fine enough that it hadn't rained for several days, and being just a stretch from the misty mountains left them with tidal waves of floods sweeping at their feet.  
  
The thunder grumbled at the party of 4. Artemis, possibly the wisest, but least listened to of the group looked to the heavens. The lightening struck a tree behind him. Lunar felt her insides freeze, the tree had cut in half.  
  
"Don't move", she muttered, he had no intention to. The tree swayed warningly at him. Lunar felt Hopes elbow.  
  
"Look to your right" she asked. Lunar saw a sweeping wave headed from the mountain. It held sheets of ice and was quickly coming to them. Hope always had a level head, but this was even pushing her standards.  
  
Lunar looked down to the frightened man who was crouched under the 100-year- old tree, which continued to move threateningly. The water would knock that over like a cat would knock over a mouse.  
  
"On my count and not before" ordered Luna quietly, as if she suspected the waters could hear her. They all knew the magic number.  
  
Jennifer trembled watching the soil slip past her feet, wincing her eyes.  
  
"One." Artemis looked up for divine inspiration, the sudden shuddered of earth would throw the heavy form behind him at his feet.  
  
"Two" Hope tensed her muscles; it would be a tight run. She had a feeling she'd be carrying either Jennifer or Artemis before they managed to reach the caves in the mountains.  
  
Lunar paused and as she felt the first lap of water she knew the time had come, "THREE!"  
  
Artemis fought the wave and ran forward. It was quickened when Hope grabbed his arm and thrust him away from the tree with out mercy. Jennifer propelled herself using the trees and moved through them. They headed right of the tree that was falling- falling fast. They had barely got out of the trees shadow when they felt it shock the earth only to be dragged down by the hydraulic action from the waves.  
  
Hope had finally given in and led the group through the rain and back to the mines of Moria. Finally deciding on the path, Gandalf the grey lead his following down a long winding stairway, but all was not well. The rumours spread and told had been true and Balin was indeed dead. It was Pippin who made matters worse. He sat nervously on the edge of an abandoned well, he didn't quite know what to say or how to console so thought it would be best if he kept quiet and kept his distance. But, being a Took, it was seldom he could be quite.  
  
He only felt his hand touch the skull for a minute before hearing the clatter and bang, then the scolding from Gandalf.  
  
Drums and laughing became more apparent, "They are coming".  
  
Hope hurtled back across the long stone bridge, the rain still gushing in. She threw down her hood; it after was material and soaked through and through. She didn't feel it helping anymore. She shook her short brown hair with her fingers- well it was short for an Elf. Her shoulder length hair seemed to have been slightly kept dry by her hood, but not much.  
  
She stopped at the end of the bridge and Artemis collapsed, pulling her with him to the floor. She had long since forgotten the grasp she had on his arm.  
  
"Artemis gather yourself. You know as well as I that these halls are not safe. We can not drop our suspicions," she commanded looking down at the blond haired man. He winked at her to her surprise.  
  
"Do not worry yourself. I will recover" he mused confidently as he jumped, with all too much strain, to his feet.  
  
"See", he said matter-of-factly, his ankles tempted to buckle. Hope grinned, Artemis had a lifting personality. It made the journeys they took always felt shorter with him around. The pair watched each other temporarily, they're smiling exchange was cut short by a short arrow coming between them. Hope rolled her eyes and drew her sword. Several were aimed at her face and chest; she caught three and deflected the rest. She moved her legs quickly and urged the others to do the same. Naturally they followed suit, not wishing to be a goblin skewer.  
  
"Oh great, they have a cave troll", announced Boromir with sarcastic cheer strictly backing away from the arrow than narrowly missed his nose. He lined up alongside Legolas and Aragorn. Legolas strung his bow tightly and fired some arrows through the cracks in the doors. They whistled in the air before piercing whatever lay in their path. Aragorn meanwhile kept his sword by his side. He heard clumping feet and knew directly what they belonged to. Without hesitation, the cave troll knocked in the strong doors.  
  
Hope could hear loud crashes as she entered a vast hallway. She stopped her feet from taking her any further. Lunar bumped into her back before feeling slightly aw struck herself.  
  
"How come we did not come this way?" asked Jennifer softly. Her eyes widened and she looked hobbit in a fireworks den.  
  
The floor shuddered and Hopes brain began to kick in. She hastily grabbed Jennifer and Artemis's arms and pulled them away. Lunar knew in her heart that if it feared her commander, then it feared her.  
  
Artemis grimaced, how many times was Hope going to feel the urge to grab that spot on his arm. He felt he should be grateful, after all the six or so adjacent bruises and cuts (where her nails had clawed him) were all symbols of the times she had pulled him out of harms way. So far, evidently, to day she had moved him six times. He reminded himself that he would one day have to say thank you to her.  
  
Hope had never realised how fast she moved, clearly thought Jennifer. Hopes feet barely touch the ground, she seems to just skim over it like a stone does on water. Jennifer's feet mutually had rarely seen the ground- but no by a choice of hers.  
  
It wasn't long before they came to the main network of halls, and Artemis could have sworn he'd felt fire lick his boots. He shuddered; it must have been. no had to have been his imagination. Hope could sense them feeling worried so she loosened her hands again, she saw her finger marks appear in the arms of her friends. Jennifer looked sorely at her flesh. Hope had left quite a print and she sensed this.  
  
Hope looked disapprovingly at the damage she had caused, Jennifer politely forced a reassuring smile- through the abundant pain.  
  
Hope didn't feel much eased by Jennifer's efforts. She could see the shadows beneath her eyes; she was weary as were they all. Hope led them at walking pace to a large door. Lunar watched her brow wrinkle as she turned back. Hope told her with her eyes, she had to look.  
  
Ignoring the warning looks Hope opened the door. On the floor was an arrow, a goblin arrow. "They've been down here," she stated in a whisper.  
  
"What have?"  
  
"The Goblins" Hope determined eyes turned back. But her gaze returned to the passage now cleared when she heard a cry.  
  
Hope didn't bother to look back. She had a natural instinct and could sense danger; the cry was similar to a wake up call that echoed in her minds chambers. This was partly because of her elven heritage and partly because of her training. She was the only soldier of the group. Lunar was a wise young woman who spoke many languages and had a dark secret, which came in handy most times. Her dark secret is shared with Artemis. The two of them have the ability to change into forms, forms of creatures. This came in handy when the situation called. But Artemis would insist the action barbaric and primitive, he was a man of Gondor and a strategist. He was the one who designed the traps where as Jennifer, his best friends niece, was responsible for building them. She was the most gifted crafter and engineer about the whole of middle-earth and only 19. Hope was the leader and the only full elf. She was shorter than most elves at 5ft 9, and was inpatient to get things done. She had served in the elven forces, and was trained to be brutal. She commandeered the team, the team of hunters. They had been sent an eagle whilst in wild. They had been assigned to hunt Saruman, who had been suspected to be helping the dark lord.  
  
Legolas watched the troll as it swung for him when the door was pushed off its hinges. In the place where the door was stood Hope. Legolas scanned her quickly, could this be the legendary leader of the hunters of the lands of Fangorn? Hope refused to spend quiet so much time looking at the new people. The troll turned its ugly head her way, then disregarded her as unimportant- his fight was with the ring bearer who was currently on the floor screaming. Hope fired a double arrow at the beast's eye.  
  
"Ah, that got your attention" she jibed. Her friends soon barrelled in behind her. Artemis for one wishing he hadn't.  
  
Hope fired another feeling Artemis cringe behind her. The troll was beginning to dislike her. Another kill on his belt would be soon achieved, it decided- though not so wordy after all trolls aren't the brightest of creatures.  
  
It only took the reminder of the hobbit sheltered in the corner to make Hope throw herself onto the trolls back. She grabbed her precious sword and dug it into the back of trolls neck. Legolas firer a few arrows to make sure the troll would come down.  
  
"Oh" thought Hope as he monster became to loose it's balance. The 10 ft Neanderthal crashed into a heap with Hope clinging to the sword still, which was still in it. When she felt the earth had stopped flying past her she dismounted and re-sheathed her weapon only to feel her hand waver over it again.  
  
Boromir was the first to look upon their rescuers in doubt. From the way the elf had acted he could tell that wasn't the first beast that was twice her size that she had killed.  
  
"We mean you no harm, Boromir" assured Lunar reading his mind briefly- she was after all - telepathic too.  
  
Boromir stuttered something that wanted to be words. Hope looked at Lunar.  
  
"Well?" she questioned as if oblivious to the tension.  
  
"He wants to know why were are here, Hope"  
  
"Funny" she said, even though it wasn't. "I was about to ask the same thing"  
  
********************************************-- ************************************************************** Thank you if you read this. 


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